Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

Aggie Winchester's life just became extremely complicated. Her friend Sylvia is pregnant - and the father refuses to publicly acknowledge Sylvia or the baby. On top of that, a new girl at school is driving a wedge between Sylvia and Aggie's friendship. Aggie's mom, who is also the principal, is undergoing cancer treatments. And all of this is coming to a head as a rumour starts that Aggie's mom interfered with the prom court elections to prevent Sylvia, a pregnant Goth, from winning. Add in some boy trouble of her own, and Aggie isn't sure what to do anymore. Will things ever get back to normal?

One thing that I thought worked particularly well in this book is how Lara Zielin nailed the high school dynamic of a friend that you're friends with because of circumstance, not because you necessarily like them. Aggie is a particularly interesting character because she's still trying to find out who she is. She doesn't necessarily want to be a Goth, but she doesn't necessarily want to live exactly as her parents want her to. Her rebellion seemed realistic. There was also some extremely questionable parenting choices being made by Aggie's parents, but unlike, say, Wait Till Helen Comes (one of the first books that inspired by 'questionable parenting' tag), the choices are understandable if not necessarily right. Sometimes the strands of the dramas seemed to be bordering on a bit too much, but Zielin has a strong writing style that kept everything in check.

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About Me

All opinions are mine and do not reflect the opinions of anyone that I work for or anyone who has sent me a book for review.

About My Blog's Name

My blog name comes from people crowding re-shelving trucks in the library, eager to see what other people were returning. There's an excitement in finding out what other people are reading, and it's a great way to get ideas for what to read next.

Looking for More Books?

For each title, I've listed a few other books under Read It With. These are titles that are similar in some way: plots, tones, themes, settings, characters, and so on. They're not straight-up read-alikes; for example, sometimes a juvenile book might have a picture book, a YA book, or an adult book listed. There's not really a science to how I come up with them - they're just meant to spark something if you're interested in a title.